Epilogue/Journey for the Dawn

Track 6-16: Epilogue

During the game’s credit roll, “Epilogue” is played right after “Ending Theme” ends, as the game transitions directly to the travelers’ epilogue event. In other words, this track was composed as a bridge between credits and epilogue.

Because the track continues to play during the epilogue scene, it loops, but I wonder if anyone noticed that the first and second loops develop along different paths?

Director [Keisuke] Miyauchi explained to me that he wanted the first loop to have a certain degree of musical ups and downs, since the credits will still be rolling while it plays, but the second loop should have a steadier feel, as it soundtracks the emotional reunion in the epilogue proper.

Because vocals are a symbol of this game, I wanted to include them here, so I had Yuria Miyazono sing on this track as well.

Track 6-17: Journey for the Dawn

As familiar traveling companions gather at the New Delsta Theater, Agnea, finally the star she dreamed of becoming, slowly begins to speak: “Life is a journey.” This line was used at the end of OT1 as well, and I feel that it contains within it the answer the OCTOPATH TRAVELER series offers to the question of what travel is.

The reason “Ending Theme” didn’t quote any motifs from the main theme was to hold them in reserve for this moment, the true finale. In that sense, you could view the entire concluding sequence of tracks, up to “Journey for the Dawn,” as an ending theme of sorts.

The arpeggios at the beginning are motifs held over from “Epilogue,” but while the arpeggios in “Epilogue” had a peaceful, intimate feel, with the ups and downs slightly muted, in “Journey for the Dawn,” the temperature changes, as if the story had begun slowly to move again. That was the effect I was aiming for with the arrangement.

The motifs heard starting around 1:16 also appeared in the OCTOPATH TRAVELER II main theme, but with a very different vibe to the arrangement. For “Journey for the Dawn,” I had them played with the same feel as their treatment in OT1.

I even had the developers adjust the tempo of Agnea’s dialogue in this scene so that its timing would match the music, in order to create just the right effect for a satisfying finale.

Translation: Matt Treyvaud